Osaki Clan
The Osaki Clan (大崎氏, Osaki Ichizoku) is one of the 5 noble clans of the Land of Rivers. While nearly all of its members are well versed in the usage of the Poison Arts, a set of poison-related weapon and ninjutsu skills, this clan enjoys its great reputation due to some members developing the Miasma Release. A clan who had a prominent role in the formation of Tanigakure, the Osaki Clan is not trying to be involved in the political development of their nation. In the current rebellion gripping the Land of Rivers, they are decidedly neutral, but heavily armed, defending their sacred sanctuaries and homes from attack from both the Streams' Rebellion Force and Daimyō. Overview The Osaki are believed to have had their origins in the Warring States Period. They were originally a band of farmers spread throughout various communities along the rivers that cut through the land. These farmers were known as the Arata. During the drier seasons, they would become a mercantile people and ride up the rivers, trading fresh crops like rice, beans, and various exotic fruits with peoples in the Land of Fire, Land of Wind, and many in between. According to Kame Osaki it wasn't uncommon for Osaki traders to travel "as far as the Land of Earth". They had a reputation for their wit and skill in farming along the fertile rivers that blessed their land. However, through means currently unknown, the clan was infected with a dangerous pandemic that originated in the life giving waters of the rivers. Over 50% of the clan died in the first 3 years, falling pray to the virus in incredibly violent ways. While the clan had been dealing with breakouts of water-bourne diseases for generations, this disease could not be managed by any medicine or treatment the Arata could concoct, giving it a 90% death rate. When word hit other communities outside the Land of Rivers that these proto-Osaki carried an infectious disease, the Arata were banned from entering nearly any area outside their lands. The prosperous farming communities the Arata became known for soon fell into poverty and chaos as trade fell and the crops became infected by the disease. However, with the lose of one industry, came the beginning of a new one. No longer capable of travelling to other villages and selling crops, the Arata who survived the plague started selling their services, becoming a mercenary clan beholden to warring kingdoms in the region. Opting to wear big capes and hoods with raven-like masks to hide their appearances, Arata mercenary ninja would be experts in sabotage and assassination. Acting as doctors or refugees, the Arata would use the disease as a potent weapon, naming it the Miasma Release. They poison/infect wells, rot fish supplies, and kill rival rulers for a hefty price. As villages began to make the correlation between these strange masked men and women and the biological disasters that accompanied them, the Arata were soon recognized as the Osaki clan by nearly all outsiders, including the Arata themselves. From there on the Osaki would be recognized as a premier clan in the Land of Rivers, a powerhouse in the region alongside the Koizumi, Amagawa, and Umon clans. However, the golden age of the Osaki ended as the pandemic subsided and only a handful of Osaki had the genes that would allow for the development of the Miasma Release